Here's another gem about the Ampex Master Trust:
In September 2002, the Company and Hillside entered into an agreement whereby an affiliate of Hillside assumed fiduciary responsibility for the management of substantially all of the Master Trust’s assets. As a result of this transition, changes were made to certain of the Trust’s investment managers to place a greater percentage of assets with managers having an active investment strategy as opposed to investment in broad index funds.
sec.gov page 105, or F-32
Don't forget that Bramson is also a director at Hillside and was so while CEO and Chairman when he gave this investment manager job to Hillside.
I know the point you raised is different, as it regards McKibben claiming representative powers over the Ampex Trust shares. That's a role he inherited from Bramson. Bramson wanted to keep the appearance as the major stockholder. Besides claiming the Ampex Trust shares, he also claimed representative powers of 105,000 shares, which he bought mostly by having Ampex loan him the money. He defaulted on the principle and most of the interest on those loans of over $4.5 million in 2004 and 2006. He also claimed representative power of about 50,000 shares through un-exercised options. Well, he did exercise 13,500 of them in October 2007 to make $75,000. Boy, he knew when to get out!
Anyway, Bramson and McKibben loved to bluff about their impenetrable ownership, but the majority of those claimed shares were either highly leveraged with Ampex loans or in the retirement Trust. The same trust whose assets were and probably still are managed by a company Bramson is a director at: Hillside. Wouldn't you love to know how much the Trust is worth today? |
